The Renaissance Palazzo - Architecture and Function - Coursework Example

The Renaissance Palazzo: Architecture and Function Fifteenth century Florence saw the highest point of the Italian Renaissance. This is obvious in the many works of art, sculpture and architecture that were made in this period. Much of this beauty was commissioned by the wealthy ruling families of Italy. They ordered the work not only for the development of culture and the arts in their cities, but also to show off their material wealth. This was how they demonstrated their status in a very class-conscious society. “Art historians bury the why – and hence the sociology – of buildings by their excessive emphasis on questions of form and style. Most of the great building projects of the Italian Renaissance … had behind them the urge to exhibit now: to exhibit an identity, to show the power or piety of the man and his family dynasty, and to carve out a space in the city that would belong to that name, that individual and dynasty, for all times” (Martines, 1979: 236). In the Florentine society, it was necessary for princes who could afford it to build huge residential palaces, villas, fortresses, governmental buildings, churches and convents. This established their importance in many ways. It showed their importance to family and dynasty, their importance to the survival and welfare of the city-state, it was a way that they could accommodate prominent visitors from foreign countries making them important political leaders and it helped to demonstrate their own piety and goodness in looking after the spiritual well-being of the citizens at large. “Thus the urban drive for grandeur and for more ample living spaces sprang from the new needs and wishes of the commanding social groups. As the political and monied elite spread out and preempted more urban space, all others had to be content with less” (Martines, 1979: 272). However, the way in which these families decided to expand and the types of works they commissioned demonstrate the advancements that had taken place in architecture and art during this period and the social needs and impressions these families wished to portray to others. A prime example of how architecture worked to both portray a specific image of the family as well as meet the new social needs of the ruling class can be found in the Palazzo Medici in Florence, as it was envisioned in 1444, the year construction on the new building began. This period in time was a time of tremendous change and growth. The long-dusty ideas of the past, grounded in tradition and defying attempts at progressive thought, were being shaken out, dusted off examined and, in many cases, thrown out with the rest of the garbage. The great societal shifts that were taking place during this period in history saw a tremendous shift in the economic base from one based upon agriculture and its products to one based on the town market and produced consumer goods. It was also a time when a shift was started in the long-held class systems from feudal organization to one consisting of numerous levels of wealth and prestige. In this society, social mobility was possible with little more than a ready mind and a willingness to make the attempt. According to Stephen Greenblatt (1997), “This is a world in which outward appearance is everything and nothing, in which individuation is at once sharply etched and continually blurred, in which the victims of fate are haunted by the ghosts of the possible, in which everything is simultaneously as it must be and as it need not have been” (60). As the church began to lose its stranglehold on society and learning, Humanism was gaining ground. Humanism is basically a secular worldview which holds that nature is all there is. During the Renaissance, the role of God was shifted in emphasis nearly from the beginning of the period. Petrarch’s humanism held that all people were essentially equal in God-given graces and that these graces were best explored through the arts, philosophy and the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans (de Bracton, 1994). Under this vision, this entailed the provision of public services to bring these arts to the common people. Throughout this entire period, Humanism as an ideology was being developed and promoted through a variety of thinkers. “Renaissance Humanists placed great emphasis upon the dignity of man and upon the expanded possibility of human life in this world” (“General Characteristics”, 2000). The values of this movement held that men should be involved in the world they lived in. “Individual achievement, breadth of knowledge and personal aspirations were valued” (“General Characteristics”, 2000) and expressed through one’s holdings. The Medici palace, commissioned by Cosimo de’ Medici, set the standard for the Florentine upper class. “Although Cosimo deliberately affected the manner of an old-fashioned merchant with simple tastes, his living style signaled the abandonment of such traditional virtues as austerity, thrift and frugality, and the acceptance of ostentation as a socially desirable trait” (Bruker, 1983: 121). Built by Michelozzo based upon the ideas of Brunelleschi, the palace reflects this personal division of Cosimo’s character. Using traditional ideas coming out of the Medieval period, such as rusticated blocks, central courtyards and a universally squared exterior façade, the palace reflects the ideals of practicality, presenting a face that, while large-scale, nevertheless indicates the scale is primarily a matter of necessity. Regularity of windows and precise attention to proportionality further indicate a certain degree of stability within the architecture itself. “It was Michelozzo’s practical experience, his sense of tradition, and – last but not least – his peculiar feeling for decoration which made him Cosimo de’ Medici’s favourite architect” (Heydenreich, 1974: 27). However, situated at the nexus of Via Larga and constructed to be taller at three stories than most other secular buildings in Florence at the time, the building couldn’t help but attract attention as belonging to an important and influential family. This location offered an alternative gathering place to the public center of the Palazzo dei Priori, further illustrating the more grandiose side of the Medici pride. That this departure from traditional modesty was condoned by the powers that be is evident in the relaxation of Florence’s sumptuary legislation as applied to art forms. That this display of importance was successful on the societal front is evidenced as “Seven years after Cosimo’s death, his grandson Lorenzo stated that the Medici had spent over 600,000 florins for public purposes since 1434, and he remarked that this expenditure ‘casts a brilliant light upon our condition in the city’” (Bruker, 1983: 121). Michelozzo di Bartolomeo based his plan for the building on the ideas brought forward by Brunelleschi, but modified them in such a way as to make them more acceptable to the Florentine conceit. The square form of the building, as it wraps around its central courtyard area, is very like of the calculated linear designs of Brunelleschi, but modifies them by allowing the walls to retain a substantial solidity. “The design is based on that of the traditional type of the medieval palazzo, but the component elements of the latter are reduced to clarity and order and provided with a consistent system of articulation. Four ranges, presenting a massive block to the exterior, enclose the square courtyard” (Heydenreich, 1974: 27). Michelozzo’s precise attention to proportion in the design of window spacing and the dimensions of each floor are directly related to the work of Brunelleschi as well as an acknowledgement of the ancient styles that were heavily influencing the art world at the time. These aspects of the design were also principally concerned with the outward appearance. “The sequence of window openings is determined by the ‘harmony’ (concinnitas) of the façade, so that in the interior some of the windows are set asymmetrically” (Heydenreich, 1974: 27). The work of Brunelleschi can also be seen in the proportions and textures of the building as it is interpreted by Michelozzo to provide that same sense of stability and solidity within the Medici family while still representing the grandeur and importance this family held. Each floor is built to a different height, becoming progressively shorter with elevation, building upon the concept of Brunelleschi’s concept of perspective and giving the building an exterior illusion of increased height as well as solid support. In addition, each floor was given a different exterior surface that further built on the perspective of space. The rough textured walls of the bottom floor suggest the strength and dependability of the Medieval fortress while the second story shows a more cultured, processed brick façade. The top floor is given a smooth ashlar face. This decreased texture as the building rises off the ground works in harmony with the decreasing heights of the floors to provide an optical illusion of depth that provides the structure with an even greater perception of height and importance. These ideas then became socially transferred as being traits of the Medici family itself within the community. In addition, the materials used themselves had a tendency to repeat these same motifs of solidity, security and opulence. It is believed the rusticated blocks of the bottom floor were originated by Michelozzo in this structure. “If Michelozzo, as it were, introduced it [the rusticated block] in the Palazzo Medici – and there would seem to be grounds for attributing the invention to him, since he later employed the technique in important variations (Palazzo Gerini, ground floor of the Palazzo Strozzino) – it would represent a very important contribution to the development of palatial secular building in the Renaissance” (Heydenreich, 1974: 27). These blocks evolved from the smaller blocks of the Trecento, or thirteenth century, but were costly because of their scarcity. For this reason, the use of these blocks in such wanton fashion represented a significant status symbol speaking eloquently of the wealth and prestige of the family, “in the Pitti and Strozzi palaces it is explicitly used as an instrument of power politics” (Heydenreich, 1974: 27), even while presenting a more pastoral and therefore more sincere and dependable appearance. Despite the strict concessions to Brunelleschi’s rules of perspective, Michelozzi included a great deal of subtle decoration within the structure, both inside and out. “The building materials and architectural forms are treated with the simplest means, and in such a way that they clearly stress the structural scheme of the building … by the vigorous sweep of the window arches, the simple beauty of the bipartite windows and by a raking cornice ‘all’antica’ which made its first fully-developed appearance in this building; in the courtyard by the noble arcading with superbly worked composite capitals and by the sgraffito decoration of the wall surfaces; finally, in the interior, by the rich, yet sober decoration, especially in the chapel, an architectural gem” (Heydenreich, 1974: 27). Sgraffito refers to a technique of applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colors and then scratching so as to produce an outline drawing. The rooms are distributed based upon their primary uses among the various floors, connected by stable rather than showy staircases tucked away into the corners. “On the ground floor, there are two courtyards with magnificent loggias, overlooked by little reception rooms, chambers and antechambers, studies, closets, bathrooms, kitchens, wells and public and private staircases, all very commodious” (Vasari, 1998: 35). A loggia is an architectural feature characterized by a gallery or corridor that is open to the air on one side and is supported by columns or openings in the wall. The most appreciated portion of the building, however, is generally agreed to be the Chapel of the Magi. This room is perfectly symmetrical, providing entrance through a central door that impressed visitors with its simple precision. Inside, it is divided into two partnered squares. Also inside is a large hall, a raised rectangular apse containing an altar and two small sacristies. As part of Michelozzo’s design, the ceiling was finished with inlaid wood, painted and generously gilded while the floors were completed with marble mosaic work laid in an elaborate geometric design. The value of the materials used in this mosaic further emphasized the importance and magnificence of the Medici family. Thanks to this delicate balance achieved between the classic forms of antiquity, the traditional aspects of the departing Medieval period and the gentle melding of form and function, Michelozzo established in the Palazzo Medici the prototype for the Tuscan Renaissance palazzo. “All Michelozzo’s buildings are works of considerable standing, which show that their author was the most important, and above all the most independent architect after Brunelleschi. He left a … deep mark on secular building, and his reputation in this field brought him commissions from Milan. In his masterly use of traditional forms, in the adaptability which enabled him to evolve good compromise solutions for distant regions such as Lombardy and Damatia, but above all in his sensitive treatment of architectural ornament, Michelozzo was able to adopt ideas and turn them to good account as well as to transmit new ones” (Vasari, 1998: 30). The Palazzo Medici, in its every line and detail, illustrates the concepts of strength, stability, practicality and security within the Medici line while still emphasizing their power, importance and wealth thereby fulfilling the desires of Cosimo de’ Medici and establishing an entirely new approach to the construction of secular buildings among the socially elite classes of Renaissance Italy. Works Cited Bruker, Gene. Renaissance Florence. Berkeley: University of California Press, (1983). De Bracton, Nicolaa. “Humanism: An Introduction.” Wide Open Doors. Brigham Young University, (1994). February 12, 2010 “General Characteristics of the Renaissance.” Renaissance. Brooklyn College, (17 August 2000). February 12, 2010 Greenblatt, Stephen (Ed.). The Norton Shakespeare. New York: Norton, (1997). Heydenreich, Ludwig H. Architecture in Italy: 1400-1500. New Haven: Yale University Press, (1974). Martines, Lauro. Power and Imagination: City-States in Renaissance Italy. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, (1979). Vasari, Georgio. The Lives of the Artists. New York: Penguin Classics, (1568, reprinted 1998). Read More